We were fishing for largemouth, smallmouth, and pike. There were lake trout, too, but they only come up near the surface in the spring.

The water in Canoe Lake was crystal clear and warm, but it was only warm until you go down about 10'. It was also very deep, more than 400'. Our swimming spot was an island that had a steep underwater drop off that went from 10' down to about 70'. We would each pick up a big boulder so that we could walk on the bottom up to the edge of the underwater cliff, then we would push off and let the rocks carry us down. I always let go before I got to the bottom. It was dark and scary down there.